For seven seasons, Kerry had us glued to our TV screens with Scandal, where she starred as Olivia Pope, a former White House Director of Communications who started her own crisis management firm to continue her reputation in government as a “fixer.”
Between 2012–2018, fans were hooked on the show’s salacious storylines, Olivia’s impeccable wardrobe, and, of course, the will-they won’t-they relationship between Olivia and the married President of the United States, Fitzgerald Grant III.
Despite the consistent high ratings and igniting live-tweeting into popularity, the Emmy-winning actor revealed she doesn’t believe a show like Scandal would happen today.
Last week, during a panel at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Kerry gave a blunt, yet honest, response when asked, “Do you think Scandal could happen today,” while referencing TV networks’ fear of having Black women lead their shows. Part of the conversation was shared on TikTok via Kerry’s production company Simpson Street.
“No,” Kerry said. “No. 100 percent, no. For so many reasons. First of all, there hadn’t been a Black woman as the lead of a network drama in almost 40 years.”
“I was in my early 30s at the time, so it hadn’t happened in my lifetime. I hadn’t seen it and everybody called it a risk — the studio thought it was a risk; the network thought it was a risk. Everybody was proud of ABC/Disney for taking this risk.”
She added that the environment in Hollywood right now is so “risk-averse” and she doesn’t believe the show would’ve been greenlit with her, or any Black woman, as the lead.
In fact, Kerry reminded the audience that when ABC first read Shonda Rhimes’s script, the executives thought it would be a great fit for Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, Nashville). Some of the attendees appeared to be hearing this info for the first time, as sounds of surprise and disapproval filled the room.
“And I love Connie, you guys,” Kerry added. “Be nice. I love Connie, but the show was inspired by a real woman named Judy Smith, who is a Black woman.”
“If it hadn’t been inspired by a real woman, who is a Black woman, everybody would’ve said, ‘Let’s make her white.’ You didn’t have the option to say that.”
The clip received nearly 1,500 comments, with fans complimenting Kerry on her portrayal of Olivia Pope and venting about how different the show would’ve been if the network went a different way.
The clip also made its way to Twitter, where fans shared similar sentiments:
To listen to Kerry’s full response, check out Part One of her answer below and Part Two here.
@simpsonstreet Hot take from @Kerry Washington.🔥Thoughts? 💭👇🏾#Scandal ♬ original sound – simpsonstreet
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